Most retailers that are not located near the beach or tourist destinations appreciate anything that can boost sales in the hot summer months. With kids out of school and vacations scheduled, the focus is on casual. For that reason, retailers often overlook the formal side of accessories that fill the needs of June brides. This three part blog covers the wedding accessories that can pick up summer sales while helping wedding couples deal with escalating costs. The first two parts covered jewelry, gloves, tiaras, and hair ornaments. This blog wraps up the bridal accessories that can build sales by filling the couple’s needs at affordable prices without sacrificing elegance. Let’s start with evening bags.

Whenever there is a red carpet event, you can expect a showcasing of evening bags. What does that have to do with bridal? Well, it tells us what the hot styles are regardless whether its music awards, bridal bags, or bags for bridesmaids. The last couple of years point to clutchesas the number one choice.

Long clutcheshave that debonair look that takes us back to the 1960s when Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Grace Kelly brought sophistication to the silver screen. These elongated clutches are in style more than ever as the most popular choice in evening bags today.

Satinclutchesprovides the most elegant and offers color choices that help when choosing bridesmaid bags. The bride usually needs white or ivory and the rest of the color choices are wonderful for matching bridesmaid dresses. The most familiar style uses envelope flaps with magnetic closures and the satin can be smooth, pleated, or have a design like latticework.

Satin provides the utmost in elegance, but trendier materials like faux patent leather, embossed snakeskin, and croc prints are also popular and are useful after the wedding as day into evening bags.

Other bridal bagsuse wristlets, soft satin bags, and boxy designs with firm body. In addition to white or ivory, these bags generally have a wide color selection that matches bridesmaid dresses. Theses same bags are popular for prom so are even more important in the spring. While not all bridal parties use evening bags, many do with bags used by the bride and bridesmaids. The bridesmaid bags are not only an accessory for the wedding day, but often double as bridesmaid gifts. A nice evening bag selection is not common. Offering a variety of styles and colors can make your shop a destination for many formal events beyond bridal.

If anyone thought bridal hats were something of the past, The Royal wedding proved they are still very important and generated enormous interest among prospective brides. Especially the outdoor wedding, which is growing in popularity, calls for bridal hats. Even before the wedding bridesmaid luncheons or teas can call for dress hats and when they do, many are in a panic looking for a source.

You can be that source and hats can open a completely new market you never dreamed of. Include some bridal and bridesmaid hats and don’t be surprised if customers ask if you can get church hats, homecoming hats, or headwear for teas and luncheons.

Super widebrimsare the dominating trend hats this season. These add plenty of elegance for outdoor weddings and bridesmaid luncheons. Most popular is polypropylene wide brim hats with brims that alternated the braided polypropylene and horsehair. These hats provide white, ivory, and colors in a very fine weave that is continuously sewn to create the headwear. The result is a Milan straw look.

In addition, polypropylene dress hats in white that are already trimmed make wonderful bridal headwear as well as dress hats in satin braid, organza, and sinamay.

The Royal wedding also brought attention to fascinators—smaller hair ornaments often made with lace, ribbon, satin, crystals, and feathers. Usually worn tilted to one side, the fascinators are major in Britain and those watching the royal wedding saw a parade of styles.

Fascinators can replace the tiara and work equally as well for indoor weddings as outdoor. Include some in white because demand is on the upswing.

Gifts for the bridal party is often challenging because the couple wants to give something nice and meaningful that is also useful. Bridesmaids are easier. Already mentioned are evening bags and rhinestone bracelets. They can accessorize the wedding party and be a gift.

Another unusual gift that is also useful is writing pens. A perfect ready to go gift is pewter sculptured pens that come in black velvet boxes with white satin linings. The weight of the pens reflects quality and a variety of themes fits personalities. The pens have pewter designs with themes like tulips, golf, best friends, dragons, sealife, and more. If you prefer a pattern to a theme, choose bamboo, scrollwork, weaved cane and several other patterns. The nicest thing is no wrapping. The velvet boxes provide a rich presentation without paper and bows.

One more idea for New Orleans weddings is fleur-de-lis pins—actually any fleur-de-lis jewelry. This category even has something for the groomsmen with fleur-de-lis key chains. A selection of bridal party gifts in your shop can sell for any gift occasion so this isn’t inventory that will stress the shop owner.

BACHELORETTE PARTIES—THE FUN PART OF BRIDAL

Everything so far has been formal and elegant. Well, now its time for some fun. Before all the formalities begin, there a night of fun for the girls—the bachelorette party. For that, the right attire is needed—we’re talking about things like novelty sunglasses. These could be margarita shaped glasses, oversize glasses, or Diva designs. The category is loaded with fun designs so each girl in the party can wear a different one.

Then there are feather boas. This is one of the most popular accessories for bachelorette parties. Everyone can have the same color so people know these party girls are one group or mix them up so each girl has her favorite color. The boas are a 55 gram weight, which is nice and full because no one wants skimpy boas for a bachelorette party.

If this isn’t wild enough, add some novelty hats. Every imaginable design can be found from cute bunny or Dalmatian hats to chickens, tigers, fish, and bees. Plenty of other wild designs from jesters to mad hatters are also in the section. So offer the girls a chance to cut up by putting together a party selection in your shop. This can also grow into something for every kind of party from birthdays to Mardi Gras, but where we want to start is with a fun selection for the bachelorette party.

So give serious thought to new ways to build sales by setting up a selection for June brides. This idea can help your summertime sales while benefitting the prospective brides by providing elegance at a savings.